Cantatio
by frozencinders
Summary: 7 scenarios set to 7 small sets of lyrics.


1. _I'll wear the ring/So take me to heaven or hell/I don't care where_

"Will you marry me?" Gan Ning asked, holding out a ring for Ling Tong. He had been gone for a few days searching for one with a topaz, the brunet's birthstone. Ling Tong sighed.

"No," he said, "you know marriage isn't my thing."

Gan Ning gave a dejected look, but continued holding his hand out.

"Will you at least wear it and pretend we're married?"

"No, because then people will ask about it and I'll have to either lie or say that I'm pretending to be married to you."

Gan Ning frowned, taking Ling Tong's hand and placing the ring in his palm. He walked away before the brunet could protest, and felt a crushing sorrow when Ling Tong didn't chase after him. The pirate had completely avoided mentioning it until he had crawled into bed with Ling Tong a few nights later and noticed he had a dimly shining topaz on his ring finger.

* * *

><p>2. <em>Give me a break before I scratch myself outI thought, "I'm strong enough!"/But now, I know_

Gan Ning stretched, wincing and cursing as he did so. Ling Tong and Lu Meng glanced at each other before shaking their heads in unison.

"We told you to hold back," Lu Meng chastised, "and now look at you! You shouldn't have rushed into the enemy camp like that!"

"But we won the battle, now didn't we? All thanks to me," the blond bragged, slowly laying down again. Ling Tong rolled his eyes.

"Too bad you can't drink to celebrate," he teased.

"Like hell I can't," Gan Ning shot back, smiling.

"He's right," Lu Meng said, "you can't. You won't be drinking for at least a week."

"What?! Give me a break, old man!" he whined, growling when Ling Tong chuckled.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll drink enough for both of us," the brunet promised. Gan Ning sighed loudly, recognizing the words as his own from when Ling Tong had been injured.

"Drink the place dry, baby," Gan Ning encouraged, smiling again as Ling Tong's face gained a nice shade of pink. Lu Meng's eyes widened, looking between the two for a moment before deciding not to ask into the nickname. He then left, leaving them alone in a decision he wasn't quite sure was wise.

"I told you not to call me that in front of people," Ling Tong mumbled, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Payback for teasing me," the pirate replied, turning over onto his side so his back was facing the brunet. Ling Tong clicked his tongue and sat behind him before carefully stepping over the blond and laying in front of him. Gan Ning's arms were immediately around him, and Ling Tong grinned, deciding alcohol could wait.

* * *

><p>3. <em>We dreamed a new lifeSome place to be at peace_

"Look at that," Gan Ning groaned, "a perfect fit."

Ling Tong gave a muffled whimper in response, ceasing his halfhearted struggles to let the pirate have his way, finding the movement of the ship an exotic touch. The brunet had been captured by the familiar looking blond, and he somehow knew the name "Xingba" off the top of his head. Gan Ning had acted like Ling Tong was a stranger, yet an old friend at the same time, claiming he didn't know who the brunet was, but calling him by his style regardless. Ling Tong couldn't remember how they had ended up in bed, but couldn't say he minded. This stranger(?) certainly wasn't bringing any harm to him.

The brunet was confused as he felt more hands on him, finding his vision was replaced with something he failed to grasp. He couldn't tell whether his new surroundings were black or white, his mind conflicting with itself as he heard something mumbled into his ear. Ling Tong then opened his eyes, confused as he looked around the room.

"Were you having a nightmare or something?" Gan Ning asked. Ling Tong thought about it for a full minute before responding, trying his best to commit the dream to memory before he could forget it.

"No," he answered, "definitely not a nightmare."

The pirate nodded, staying quiet as he tried to get back to sleep.

"Xingba," Ling Tong started, waiting for a response before he continued speaking. Gan Ning opened his eyes again, looking over at the brunet.

"Hm?" Ling Tong remained silent, looking away. "What's the matter, baby?"

"I want this war to be over, already," he admitted, turning his head to the side again to meet the blond's gaze.

"I don't know," Gan Ning said, "life would be pretty boring without these brawls."

"But wouldn't it be nice to just... travel the seas like you used to? With me, this time?"

"What, you wanna go on an adventure?" he teased, nuzzling the brunet. "We'll see, cutie. We've gotta live through all this, first."

* * *

><p>4. <em>You're so cold, but you feel aliveLay your hand on me one last time_

"Funny that you loved fighting so much and now you're dying of an illness instead of on the battlefield," Ling Tong remarked, his frown reflecting that he didn't find it amusing in the slightest. Gan Ning chuckled, interrupting himself with a small coughing fit that made the brunet wince and look away.

"At least I didn't outlive you," he said, apparently relieved. This sparked a slight bit of rage in Ling Tong.

"You selfish bastard," the brunet growled, but his words held very little venom, "you're just dead set on taking everything from me, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry, baby," Gan Ning replied, turning his head to stare at the ceiling as he rested on his back. "I'll make it up to you..."

"And how do you plan to make it up to me when you'll be dead in a few hours at most?" Gan Ning smiled.

"I'll think of something," he promised, closing his eyes. Ling Tong bristled when the pirate stopped responding, pressing his fingers to Gan Ning's neck. His skin was cooler than usual, but the brunet still felt a faint pulse.

"Xingba, wait," Ling Tong begged, gently shaking the blond until his eyes fluttered open again, "I... I want to hear it again."

"Hear what? That I'll think of something?" The blond was pausing in his sentences now as he tried his best to breathe. Ling Tong felt tears welling in his eyes.

"Tell me you love me," he requested, "one last time."

"I love you, Gongji," he whispered, moving his hand over the brunet's. Ling Tong nodded, moving in to kiss Gan Ning before whispering it back. He then stayed, torturing himself with the feeling of his lover dying in his hand.

* * *

><p>5. <em>I say my wish out loudBut too bad, there's no cure for the stupid_

"What do you want from me?" he demands. Gan Ning is silent for a good while before he answers.

"You. I just want you," the blond admits, "I love you."

Ling Tong's face would be twisted with disgust if he wasn't completely shocked. Gan Ning sees hate raging in his eyes regardless.

"Do you really think I'd let a beast like you have me?" Ling Tong scoffs, turning around and starting to walk away. "Idiot."

'That went about as well as it could have,' Gan Ning thinks to himself, smiling when he realizes the brunet didn't shout or hit him or anything. Maybe, just maybe, he has a chance.

* * *

><p>6. <em>Hotly, hotly, hotly aflame with passionThat my emotion may never, never fade_

"I don't love him! I'll never love him! I'll never even LIKE that idiotic waste of space! I just want him GONE!"

Lu Meng shook his head and Lu Xun winced. The young strategist had accidentally implied something Ling Tong didn't take too kindly to.

"I sure as hell hope you don't think your situation is so unique," Lu Meng snapped, "do you know how many fathers you've killed? How many of their children were left with a mother who had to explain that he wasn't coming back, or even left with nothing at all?!"

"I was only 15 when-"

"And some of these children aren't even 10 years of age! You're just as much of a murderer as Gan Ning." Ling Tong snarled at that.

"We're nothing alike! He-"

"Him and your father were on opposing sides, he had no choice but to kill him!"

"But then-"

"Then he joined Wu, and is making a great effort to help us! Face it Ling Tong, you're in the wrong here."

The brunet was crying now, trying his best not to sob as hot tears streamed down his face. He angrily rubbed them away, growling when they just kept coming, soaking his sleeves. He sniffled pathetically before storming off, intent on visiting the source of his problems. When he reached the pirate's room, he flung the door open, still crying. Ling Tong wanted to yell at him, wanted to say anything, but he found his mind had inconveniently emptied itself, and he was just standing in Gan Ning's doorway, turning away as he tried to stop crying.

"Hey, Ling Tong, what's wrong?" Ling Tong found it odd that the pirate's voice held nothing but worry. He wondered if Lu Xun had gotten the two's feelings mixed up.

"How do you feel about me?" he chanced, and Gan Ning furrowed his brow, tilting his head and pressing his teeth together uncomfortably in frustration.

"Are you really this upset over what I think of you?" Before Ling Tong could say no, absolutely not, not in a thousand years, or anything along those lines, the pirate pressed their lips together. Ling Tong was _livid_ that his tears had stopped with the kiss, and he wanted to storm off again, but Gan Ning held onto him.

"I never wanna see you cry like this again, alright? I'll do anything." Ling Tong felt his anger fading at the pirate's soft tone and that just made him want to be even angrier.

"I don't..." a sob interrupted him with god awful timing, "I don't care what you think."

"Why don't you spend the night with me?" the pirate had the gall to ask, and Ling Tong wanted to scream with how frustrated he was.

'No, never, never, I would NEVER-'

Ling Tong sniffled as his body disobeyed his thoughts and brought Gan Ning's face close to his again, who obliged him with another, longer kiss. The brunet decided he would let Gan Ning comfort him, just for one night. Unfortunately, it ended up being many, many nights that the two spent together.

* * *

><p>7. <em>I watch you fast asleepAll I fear means nothing_

Ling Tong found the quiet of the night more unsettling than soothing as he sighed and sat up, unable to fall asleep. He hadn't been experiencing nightmares recently, so he didn't understand what could be keeping him up. Glancing over at Gan Ning, the brunet allowed his expression to soften.

"Where're you goin'?" Gan Ning tiredly mumbled without opening his eyes. He felt around for Ling Tong, raising his hand and rubbing the brunet's back before embracing him and pulling him back down to the pirate.

"Nowhere," Ling Tong promised, "I'll stay with you."


End file.
